We’re hunkered down.  After getting over 20 inches of snow and 4-foot drifts, we have decided to stay put.  So, what better than to spend time with a loved one in the kitchen?

That’s what we did yesterday.  I rolled out the dough and my wife worked the lefse pan.  We made several dozen … er…. rounds?  Pieces?  I’m not sure what the correct vernacular is for a piece of lefse. 

These lefse (the ones that make it out of our house) are destined for my school where I will sell packages as a fundraiser for MS.  I checked prices online (Jacob’s Lefse) and found it to be quite expensive.  It’s so good, it’s sure worth it! 

We plan to make it next weekend too so we can bring some back to Alex for Christmas.

Lefse-making is fun and not as difficult as I thought it would be.  And, it’s fun to do with a loved one on a cold, snowy day.

Well, I just got back and have a new Lefse pan in tow. My first attempt at homemade lefse went better than expected. I put them in plastic, made up some labels, and didn’t say a word. Comments were made that it tasted so good and seemed homemade! Finally, I told them my wife and I had made them the previous weekend. Then, we were officially assigned to make it from now on for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Yesterday, between our shopping excursions, we made sure to stop by the Scandanavian Gifts store on Broadway in Alex. It was great to see my old neighbors, the Millers. They lived right down the alley from my parents when I was young. They helped me get my necessary lefse-making supplies (pan, stick, and rolling-pin sock). I’m all set to start my new holiday hobby. It will be fun.

While enjoying Thanksgiving dinner, the cost of lefse was brought up. Someone said a package of 3 cost $4! What?? I plan to make extra to sell as a fundraiser at my work to make money for the MS-TRAM that I ride each summer. I figure packages of 6 pieces for $5 might sell.

Well, I better boil some potatoes now.

A friend of mine in Elementary school used to bring a touch of heaven in his lunch every day. Wrapped in a plastic bag was a soft, sweet, potato, butter, and sugar treat. He’d share these bits of wonder with me as I, growing up in a German family, had never seen nor tried them before. The name, “Lefse”, was something I had never even heard of. My favorite was to butter it, put sugar (white) on it, and put it directly on the top rack of the oven and broil it until it was warm and slightly browned and crisp. I don’t remember how many of these I ate as a kid, but do remember how much I loved Lefse.

Minnie Gaber, a former babysitter, once came over and made HOMEMADE LEFSE! Wow! What a treat. It rivaled her homemade doughnuts!

Fast-forward a few years. I married a woman whose parents included lefse with every holiday meal. Still, mostly store-bought, but good. Mrs. Olson knows her stuff.

This year, I was charged with bringing the lefse. I decided to make it myself. Homemade lefse! How hard could it be? The internet has recipes and videos. Of course, there are lefse-specific tools, which I did not have. I figured I’d give it a try without anything special.

I made the dough yesterday. I had a few small lumps of potatoes, but it was okay (I couldn’t find a potato ricer ANYWHERE … grocery store, Target, Walmart…). This morning my wife and I commenced the cooking of the lefse. A dough mat does not work! You need a cloth full of flour as a base. And you need to use a lot of flour. And you need a stick. I was able to wing it … I found one that I wittled the end to be flat to slide under to pick up the lefse and move it.

The first one didn’t work, but after I made the flat stick thing and used the towel instead of the pastry mat, success! We made about 2 dozen pieces, put them in bags, and they’re in the fridge ready to bring to Thanksgiving dinner. And, to be fun, we made fake labels. We’re not telling them that we made it. we want to know what the afficianados have to say. It was fun to make and we might actually buy some lefse-specific tools and do this every year. Who knows?

I remember going home and asking my Mom to get some. She did, and I experimented with ways of preparing it.

It’s the “red-headed step-child” of proteins.  I watch my share of chef shows on TV and I’ve never heard such disdain as I have when someone had to cook with ground turkey.  Complaints of its lack of flavor, dryness, texture all add to the viewers wanting to stay away from it. 

Is it as bad as they say?  Now, I’m not one to say no to a good beef hamburger, don’t get me wrong.  Nice and juicy, med to med-rare, done in a pan or on the grill, I don’t care.  But, I have made some decent turkey burgers too. 

Some people add Worcestershire sauce to their ground meat or turkey when making burgers.  My wife has a strong aversion to the flavor or Worcestershire sauce, so that isn’t an option. 

My most recent attempt is an Italian-style burger.   I add Italian bread crumbs, a little egg, Spaghetti sauce, and Parmesan cheese to the meat and cook it up.  I sear it on both sides and finish it in the oven (400 degrees). 

Like all meat dishes, one of the most important things you can do is to LET IT REST!  I’ve been known to let burgers rest for 10 or more minutes.  Turkey burgers – not so long.  Not much is going to help their dryness, so I always plan to have something for dunking.  A marinara sauce for this on.  I put mine on a whole wheat bun.  It would be much tastier on a ciabatta or maybe a good Italian artisen bread. 

Another idea:

Mix bacon pieces in with the ground turkey and put a good colby cheese and barbecue sauce on it.

Ground turkey is a lot healthier than beef.  It is dry, so adding moisture helps. 

Some people just brown it like ground beef, add seasonings, and put it in their pasta sauce. 

So, ground turkey may not be the protein choice for master chefs, but when you’re trying to eat healthy at home, substituting it for other proteins can work.

It’s the most important meal of the day, right?  So, what do you have for breakfast?  Do you have the same thing every day?  Do you skip it and just grab a cup of coffee?  Can you tell the difference in your energy and work performance when you eat something less than healthy? 

I remember growing up and my dad would fry a bunch of bacon, then use the leftover grease to fry some eggs, add in some toast, and there it was:  Breakfast.  Times have changed … for me at least. 

I’m currently on a smoothie kick.  For the last few weeks, most mornings I greet the day with a banana and berry smoothie.  Smoothies are pretty popular nowadays.  I wonder what people put in their’s.  Here is my basic smoothie:

A banana

Some frozen mixed berries (blueberries, strawberries, etc…)

Lowfat or fat free vanilla yogurt (I use Stonyfield Farms).

Fat free vanilla soy milk

That’s it.  Dump it all in a blender and push the button.  A nice tall smoothie with a cup of coffee while I watch the morning news. 

Yesterday I went off of my smoothie kick and made our version of breakfast burritos.  Scrambled eggs with fresh sliced jalapenos (no seeds, etc..), cheese, salsa or taco sauce, wrapped in a low fat whole wheat tortilla.  Ok … I had two .. and they were big.  I found I didn’t have the energy I usually have.  I felt lazy and tired all day.  I’m back on smoothies now.

I used to have oatmeal every day with some blueberries stirred in.  That seemed to be a good choice. 

Is breakfast the most important meal of the day?  If I want to have energy and be productive, it sure is.  But, for me at least, what I eat and how much makes a difference.  If I have a lighter, healthier breakfast like oatmeal and/or fruit, then I feel great.  If I decide to go with a heavier, higher fat-content breakfast, I don’t have the energy I need. 

Time to go make my smoothie now and get some work done.

I love to cook and have since I was about 7 years old. I’ve had recipes appear in cook books since I was quite young as well. I enjoyed my years working at the Colonial Club in Nelson while in junior high school. I know if I wasn’t a teacher, I’d be a chef.

That being said, I love to try new recipe ideas. Someone recently posted a blog post about a cajun barbecue rib recipe. That sounded SO good, I had to copy it down and will be making it tonight.

So, what are your favorite foods and recipe ideas? Share them here! Here’s an easy one to get started.

We are always told to include more fish in our diet. I love cedar-plank salmon and broiled fish, but what can you make to give fish a bit more pizazz? One of my favorites is FISH TACOS.

There are so many different ways to make fish tacos! Here is a VERY EASY recipe to get you started:

Start with a pre-marinated chili-lime fish, like talapia or red fish.
Make the salsa first. I love serving mango salsa with fish tacos. It’s real easy to make.
Dice a mango (for every two people)
De-seed a jalapeno and dice it – add it to the mango in a small bowl.
Chop up some red onion and add it.
Chop up some cilantro … add it.
Squeeze some fresh lime juice over the top and maybe a dash of salt if you prefer. Done … stir it up and set it aside.
Heat a pan with a little oil. Cook the fish through … 3 minutes per side.
Cut the fish into strips.
Cut some large whole wheat tortillas in half. Let people fill their own.
For some added crunch, serve with some cole slaw, it tastes great in the taco!
You can also add black beans and Trader Joe’s tomato-less corn and chili salsa!
Enjoy!

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